The kanji 憎 (zō) primarily conveys the meaning of "hate," "detest," or "loathe." It describes a strong feeling of dislike, aversion, or disgust towards someone or something. It implies a deep-seated negative emotion.

・On-yomi (音読み): ゾウ (zō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): にく（む） (niku(mu)) - to hate, detest; にく（い） (niku(i)) - hateful, detestable

⚫︎ 憎しみ (nikushimi) Translation: Hatred; hate; detestation. ⚫︎ 憎悪 (zōo) Translation: Hatred; aversion; loathing. ⚫︎ 憎らしい (nikurashii) Translation: Hateful; detestable; odious.

The kanji 憎 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which means a phono-semantic compound. It combines a meaning component and a sound component. The left side is 月 (tsuki/getsu), which, in this context, is thought to be an alternative form of the radical 心 (kokoro), meaning "heart" or "mind". The right side is 曾 (sō), which is the phonetic component, giving the sound ゾウ (zō). So, the character's construction implies that the feeling of "hate" stems from the heart or mind, and the "曾" provides the sound clue.